I Like My Consumer Cellular

[steelyman]

I’m glad easysurfer titled the thread as it is because it’s clear what the thread’s about. There are always several threads with a coy, teaser title that isn’t helpful when sifting through lists to see what might be of interest.

[BeachOrCity]

For people who have Comcast internet and use variable amounts of data each month with more than 1 line xfinity Mobile is hard to beat

12 bucks per gb of shared data between up to 5 lines plus tax.
If you prefer you can commit in any month to 3gb and start at 30 bucks or 10gb and start at 60 bucks. All shared on up to 5 lines.

You can even change your data plan mid month! Including an unlimited option for any single line in case you have a family member who thinks it’s a good idea to binge Netflix over cellular when it rains one day.

[momoftwo]

We ditched long time expensive Verizon service with many additional fees for Tmobile "55+" plan last year.

Very happy.
Not the lowest cost but is perfect for our needs.
2 lines, unlimited talk/text/data.
We use phones pretty much constantly.
Overseas coverage.
Ported our numbers with existing Samsung S8 phones, no issues.

$70 / month for 2 lines, no additional fees, autodebit from checking account.

Was not interested in saving a few dollars ad have to watch minutes or data used.
Much better/quicker access to customer service and we have a brick n mortar store 3 miles away.

[popntx]

I like Consumer Cellular too, but my wife is having a problem with text messages not arriving timely. She has an iPhone 6 and we've been on Consumer Cellular for several months.

What's happening is she has several friends that send group text messages. Sometimes she doesn't receive the group text messages for several hours or even more than a day, and then suddenly she gets all of the text messages at once. This only seems to happen on group messages.

Her friends that are part of the group are not having this problem except for 1 person who is also on Consumer Cellular, and she is so frustrated with the issue that she's going to switch services. I've Googled the issue and have found several posts about this problem with other providers but not Consumer Cellular.

I do not want to switch to another provider unless absolutely necessary because I like CC's pricing and service. Plus, I'm not convinced that this is an issue specific to CC, particularly based on my limited Google research.

My next step is to call CC to see what they advise, but I'm curious if anyone on this forum have any thoughts or have experienced the same problem.

Thanks!!

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by popntx My next step is to call CC to see what they advise, but I'm curious if anyone on this forum have any thoughts or have experienced the same problem. Thanks!!

Two thoughts.

The APN settings have to be correct. When you call, they can check those.

Not sure if your base network is T-Mobile or AT&T. Your coverage may be stronger in one or the other. (CC assigns you one or the other based on general coverage and strength in your area... and probably other factors that favor them.)

[steelyman]

My second full month bill from CC was posted, same amount. So I’m guessing that, in the usual case, it’s been “sized right” for my usage pattern. I’m happy so far.

I had a reason to set up call forwarding and got curious when it took a little while to “take”. I wonder if it somehow has to be routed through AT&T (my underlying network). But it worked and is set up entirely on the iPhone under “Settings”.

[Rustic23]

How does CC compare with the new T-Mobile $15/$25 plan. The $15 plan get 2 gig of data, and I think the $25 gets 5 gig. T-Mobile is not real good in our area, but it would use wifi in the house, and once on the road should work.

[ShokWaveRider]

I like our Grandfathered over 55 T-Mobile plan for $60 for 2 lines each with 10gb data and coverage all over north America, Canada and Mexico included.

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustic23 How does CC compare with the new T-Mobile $15/$25 plan. The $15 plan get 2 gig of data, and I think the $25 gets 5 gig. T-Mobile is not real good in our area, but it would use wifi in the house, and once on the road should work.

I don’t know. I haven’t gotten around to checking out the T-Mobile Test Drive program that REW alerted us to (that would help learn about coverage in my location).

There’s a separate thread that’s a more general discussion comparing different companies’ offerings, might be good to have a look.

[Rustic23]

Testing CC. I have an Iphone 4s I was not using. It was locked to AT&T. I went online, filled out the form, and about three hours later the phone was unlocked. Same for DW's active SE. My Iphone 6s took about a week for some reason. Anyway, I went to Target and picked up a T-Mobile CC sim. It worked in town but not at home. I chatted with CC, and they sent me an ATT sim. That works good on the old 4s. My first month's configuration is, one phone, 250 min talk, and 500 meg data, all for $20 plus tax. (I figure tax at about 20%) I will keep this for about a month and if all works as I expect I will change both current phones over, and port my numbers. At that time I will boost to 2 lines, unlimited talk, and 3 gig data. Price: $45 a month. This is about a $660 savings over my current bill.

So thanks in advance to those that posted here.

[steelyman]

I changed the phone on my CC account from an iPhone 5S to an 8. No difficulties at all (just a SIM swap between the phones and a call to register the new phone on their side), it happened very fast.

The older phone could not do wi-fi calling with CC/AT&T but the newer one can and the CC rep helped to make sure that was good. All prior “opt-in” features like tethering and forwarding stayed in place.

[Rustic23]

steelyman: Thanks. I have put the sim in my 6s and it seemed to work fine. Also worked on DW's SE. I plan on waiting a couple of weeks before porting the numbers. It's the positive feedback from here that convinced me to give this a try. Only 'con' I have come across is AT&T's spam blocker may not work. I will look for the best blocker for CC.

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustic23 steelyman: Thanks. I have put the sim in my 6s and it seemed to work fine. Also worked on DW's SE. I plan on waiting a couple of weeks before porting the numbers. It's the positive feedback from here that convinced me to give this a try. Only 'con' I have come across is AT&T's spam blocker may not work. I will look for the best blocker for CC.

Good luck. Sounds like it’s going well. During one of my initial calls with CC I think the rep mentioned Nomorobo (something like that, it’s definitely been discussed here on e-r.org).

I’ve been lucky with spammers on my cell for some reason. Not total but rare. The new phone supports iOS 13 which may help block callers, but I have no experience (I think there are pros and cons).

My VoIP (“landline”) is Ooma Premier which has been very effective.

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelyman I don’t know. I haven’t gotten around to checking out the T-Mobile Test Drive program that REW alerted us to (that would help learn about coverage in my location).

Just a followup after I murdered my iPhone 5S. That was reason to fire up Test Drive and try it out with my iTouch while I was temporarily without an iPhone (I could still place and receive wifi calls through Ooma on the Touch).

In my area, Test Drive has basically no coverage so T-Mobile doesn’t seem an option. To be fair, both AT&T and Verizon admit to dead spots where I live so it’s likely tower placement and topography.

I’ll stay with AT&T as my CC network.

[Rustic23]

I got a 'Medicare sign-up' call on the new number two days after activation!

[steelyman]

Talk about a guy who spends time swimming in Lake Clueless: I got a call from an old friend in Tennessee last night, just some chat and catching up. At one point we mentioned new phones (I just got one) and calling plans and he said, “lemme call you right back”.

What he wanted was to use/show me FaceTime audio, totally new to me. Worked like a charm, great quality and apparently no impact on CC usage (we were both on home wifi). Nice option to add to the arsenal especially if those you talk to are iPhoners.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelyman Talk about a guy who spends time swimming in Lake Clueless: I got a call from an old friend in Tennessee last night, just some chat and catching up. At one point we mentioned new phones (I just got one) and calling plans and he said, “lemme call you right back”. What he wanted was to use/show me FaceTime audio, totally new to me. Worked like a charm, great quality and apparently no impact on CC usage (we were both on home wifi). Nice option to add to the arsenal especially if those you talk to are iPhoners.

I've had no problems with bandwidth on CC. I'm currently working with a group where one guy can't get MMS. Everyone else is getting it. I suspect it is his phone. I did have to adjust my APN to properly do MMS with CC. Their default is no MMS. I suspect he may be on such a plan.

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras I've had no problems with bandwidth on CC. I'm currently working with a group where one guy can't get MMS. Everyone else is getting it. I suspect it is his phone. I did have to adjust my APN to properly do MMS with CC. Their default is no MMS. I suspect he may be on such a plan.

I think someone (maybe you?) mentioned some tweaking necessary and steps to address.

Mr. Clueless, in this case, was me! I appreciate learning of new ways (like FaceTime) to expand services available for use.

I’ve had no bandwidth problem with CC either but am a super-light user of cell data normally.

[ocean view]

I am hoping one of you Consumer Cellular pros can help with this problem:

DM got her first smartphone (iPhone 8) in September and ported her home number to the iPhone and signed up with Consumer Cellular. She is adapting well to this new technology, but for one complaint. She says that she never knows when she’s received a new voicemail. She says the phone icon on the screen always shows a red badge in the corner, but that badge does not give a number (like the badge on her email for unread messages). Nor does the badge ever go away. DM lives several hours away, so I haven’t been able to see in person what she’s described. Does anyone else’s CC voicemail act this way? btw, she’s using an AT&T sim, if that makes a difference.

TIA

[JoeWras]

I probably can't help because I suspect this is more an iPhone thing than CC.

I'm an Android user. I switched from AT&T to CC using AT&T network and my voicemail didn't change at all. It was exactly the same. On Android, the behavior is you get this notification icon. Hearing and clearing the message then can be done multiple ways: native call back, visual voice mail app, etc. It always goes away after listening.